How to Trim a Westie

The West Highland Terrier -- also called a Westie -- is a smart, sweet, high-strung dog with white, wavy fur. Trimming your dog's hair will take patience and practice, but is a relatively easy process. A Westie haircut is a combination of long and short hair. The hair on the face and head is long, like a lion, the hair on the back and tail are short and the lower portion, including the legs, hangs like a skirt. How long or short you trim your dogs hair is based on personal preference.

Things You'll Need

  • Brush
  • Comb
  • Clipper
  • Blades Nos.10 and7
  • Scissors
  • Thinning sheers
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Instructions

    • 1

      Wash, dry and brush your dog's fur thoroughly, getting down to the skin, then follow with a comb. This process gets all of the snarls out and makes the hair easier to work with.

    • 2

      Lift your pet up so that it is standing on his hind legs. Trim the groin and belly area with No. 10 clipper blade. Take the same clipper blade and trim any excess hair growing from the bottom of its paws and from the front and back of its ears.

    • 3

      Start behind the ears with the No, 7 clipper blade and clip all the way down the dog's back, stopping at the base of the tail. Continue this process, trimming front to back, in long even strokes until you have moved halfway down each side of your pet. Blend where the short back hair and the long skirt hair meet with thinning sheers.

    • 4

      Take the No. 7 clipper blade and trim under the dog's chin, from the collar area down to the breastbone. It should line up with the hair on the back and sides. Blend with thinning sheers. Move to the tail and trim; it will look like a carrot when complete. The tail is sensitive, so use scissors if you are not comfortable with the clippers.

    • 5

      Use scissors to trim the long skirt, leg and face hair. In order to keep the dog's leg and skirt hair clean, trim up off the ground. Cut the hair on the face so that it is not in the eyes and trim the beard so that it does not get in the way of eating. When trimming long hair with scissors, try to get a neat and uniform look.